


the list

by allthelostsouls



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-03 17:37:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19468831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthelostsouls/pseuds/allthelostsouls
Summary: Bucky overhears a conversation that gets him looking into korean dramas, and now he might just wanna make them a reality.





	the list

**Author's Note:**

> shoutout to my girl [Mei ღ](https://mochibarnes.tumblr.com/) who pretty much gave me the idea for this and approved of the first bits and pieces, encouraging me to write/finish this!  
> i tried to edit this as best as i could but you know how it is.  
> thank you for reading if you are, i hope you enjoy this! xx

Steve walks into the kitchen with a frown, his notebook in hand.

“Uh-oh,” Bucky muses from the kitchen counter. He adds an extra cup of water to the kettle knowing Steve will like some as well. “List keeps growing?”

“How are we ever gonna catch up, Buck?”

Bucky shrugs, holding back a smile and watches his best friend walk toward the couch.

“Hey, darling,” he greets their best girl, sinking into the couch next to her.

She smiles in response and steals the notebook from his hands, “Let’s see what else we got. I’ll pick the next thing.”

Steve sighs loudly, letting his head fall back. She looks up at Bucky with an amusing look and he only smiles back, trying his best not to laugh at his best friend. Maybe he should be just as worried about catching up with the world. But honestly, the hell with it. He’ll take his time, maybe make his own list soon.

Her eyes move back to the notebook and they widen in surprise, picking interest from both of them, “K-dramas?”

Steve shrugs one shoulder, “The pretty girl at the coffee shop told me its something I should look into.”

“Oh my God,” she beams. “Steve, does this pretty girl flirt with you a lot?”

“I don’t—I’m not sure?”

“Uh-huh, sure. So K-dramas are like any other Netflix series or soap opera, only you know, from South Korea mostly. Like anyone else, they have some shows that are mysteries and some that are mostly funny, but the most popular ones here, and the ones she wrote on that little notebook for you, they’re romances.”

“Oh,” he mutters, realization downing on his face.

“You should still check them out, though,” she urges. “I think the way they present skinship and relationships might pair well with your courting techniques, old timer.”

“Watch it,” he warns.

“I’ll watch them with you. I actually love them. They’re so cheesy.”

“Really?”

“Let’s just give them a try,” she pleads, almost pouting. “It might give you some flirting tips that accommodate your old ways and it gives me an excuse to binge watch the shows again.”

“Fine,” he sighs and then mumbles under his breath, “Never wanted to be called on a mission so badly before.”

“Steve,” she scolds him. “If you do the little things for her as they do on the dramas, she’d know you like her. Maybe that’s what she’s trying to get at? To find a way for you to feel more comfortable expressing or showing your feelings? Not all of us care only about kissing and sex like you said last week. Not saying I’m against it, but girls actually _like_ the cheesy stuff.”

He sighs, “Okay, okay. I’ll give it a go. For _you_. Because I got a feeling I won’t be left alone about this unless I give them a try.”

“You’re damn right,” she smiles brightly at him.

Steve sighs, defeated, and when he looks back to the kitchen counter he finds Bucky holding back a laugh as he pours the tea into the mugs. He rolls his eyes at his best friend, but smiles back just the same.

✭

Bucky knows Steve’s room as if it were his own. He knows where everything is and it only takes him a second to notice if anything has been moved. So when Bucky comes inside his room while Steve’s at the gym, it doesn’t take him more than half a minute to find his little black notebook to copy the name of the shows. After making sure he leaves it right in the same spot he found it, he’s off to his own room to start his... _research_.

✭

Once Bucky thinks he’s gathered enough information, he creates a mental list. In no particular order, here’s how he crosses out the items one by one:

i. 

piggyback rides. 

Her body hits the ground with a loud thud and a grunt.

When she stands back up, there’s fire in her eyes. And Bucky feels sorry for Clint, because he’s about to get his ass handed to him and doesn’t even know it. Steve and Sam stand next to him after finishing their set and they chuckle softly at the exchange, probably thinking the same. Clint cracks a few jokes at her expense but he doesn’t get anything back other than half a chuckle and a devil smile. And Bucky thinks he’s met his match.

Finally, Clint comes at her with a right hook and she blocks him easily. She shoves him away from her, hard, and her voice is cold as ice when she says, “Don’t be scared, little bird. No need to pull your punches.”

“Let’s see what you got, kid.”

He comes for her again and this time she holds onto his arm to give herself enough balance to knee him in the stomach, the air leaving his body all at once. She takes the half a second he needs to recover to spin as she lowers herself on the floor and stretches out her leg right on time to kick him from the back and get him off his feet. His body hits the ground with a thud and as he tries to reach for her, she hits him hard on the chest to throw him off again. She closes her hand on his wrist avoiding another punch, and she pulls his body forward so she can sneak in behind him, her legs closing around his waist, her arms closing around his neck and head, immobilizing him. Clint curses as he pats her hand rapidly, giving up. Her whole body turns liquid then, her limbs freeing Cling from their trap, and he lets himself fall next to her.

“Gotta say, Clint, Nat will be disappointed when she finds out about this.”

“Nah,” he breathes. “She’ll be damn proud of you, though.”

“Nice work, girl,” Sam shouts, stepping closer to them, and he even slow claps for her. “Getting better and better everyday.”

“Don’t make me kick your ass, Wilson. Lord knows the whole damn team will thank me for it.”

“Damn right,” Steve seconds that under his breath, and Clint laughs loudly as he accepts Steve’s hand to help himself up. He pats his back and they both walk out of the room together, quickly falling into conversation.

“Did it hurt?” Sam teases.

“Yes.”

“You didn’t even wait for the ‘when you fell from heaven’ part.”

“Everything hurts.”

“I take it you’re not gonna join us for a run today then?”

“God, no.”

Sam chuckles one last time and walks out of the gym to catch up with Clint and Steve.

Bucky finally steps forward and she’s a little surprised to see him there, offering her a water bottle. She mumbles a thanks and she takes it, holds it against her neck, the cold of it soothing her skin.

“Need help getting up?”

“Can I just lay here forever?”

“Sorry, darling,” Bucky shakes his head. “How about a piggyback ride to your room?”

And it takes her a second to process the words, her body suddenly aware of everything around her; there’s the faint sound of the TV, the loud sound of her breathing, and an expecting Bucky, a soft smile playing at the corners of his mouth. She meets his eyes, and her mind fills with so much blue, blue, blue she feels like drowning.

She’s still stuck on that thought when she hears herself answer, “Huh, okay.”

Bucky offers his right hand to help her up and she slides her hand up his palm and wrist to hold onto his forearm, the gesture making her shiver. Still holding onto her, Bucky turns around to give his back to her, his body low enough for her to just take a small jump and wrap her legs around his waist, holding herself up. Bucky’s hand close around the back of her legs as hers close around his neck. He looks over his shoulder to make sure she’s comfortable and her breath gets caught in her throat when she looks back at him and realizes how close they really are. He feels her heartbeat against his own and after he hears her swallow hard, he starts moving. He’s full on grinning, sure that she can’t see it, and takes all the time in the world walking towards her room. She won’t admit but she’s thankful for it, she almost wishes her room and the gym were further apart just so she could be this close to Bucky a little longer.

Hours later, she still feels him all over.

ii. 

jealousy. 

“Well, what a gift,” she says out loud, stepping into the room. The _wrong_ room. Some, including herself, may say the _right_ one. She finds Steve, Thor, Sam and Bucky in their dressing room, all of them shirtless. “And it’s not even my birthday.”

Bucky’s ears turn red and his face hot. He yells things that don’t really make sense and throws shirt and towels or whatever he finds to his teammates, demanding them to cover up. He stands in front of her with his arms open to try and block her view, but she still stretched to try to get to her toes or ducks to see under his arm. As a last act of desperation, Bucky steps forward and covers her eyes with his hand. His body moves around hers until he’s behind her, and with his free hand he holds her waist to make her walk backwards and out of the room.

“Hey,” she pouts for a second before her mouth stretches into a smile as she chuckles. “I wanted to see.”

Bucky grunts, “What were you doing in there in the first place?!”

“I was distracted and went in the wrong door,” she shoots back, patting the hand on her eyes, asking him to let go.

He does and the smile drops from her mouth as she turns to see him. She swallows hard and her eyes roam Bucky’s chest shamelessly. He clears his throat loudly and almost laughs at the way her heart stutters, her eyes hitting the ground, embarrassed. She frowns after a moment, recovering surpassingly fast. It’s almost as if Bucky can hear her thinking _two can play this game_ when her eyes meet his again, challenging him.

“Is it my birthday?” She asks tentatively.

Bucky grunts, and steps forward slowly, making her move back without really noticing. He towers over her and her smile fades again as her back hits the wall. It’s his turn to grin, “Stay out of trouble.”

Two can definitely play this game.

__

____

iii. 

protecting each other. 

They team is scattered all around the building.

They’re in the middle of a mission and need to secure the building while Steve retrieves the package. She’s sure she’s almost done securing her area on the first floor since there’s only three more soldiers on her view. The building’s to her left, and there’s nothing but water behind her and towards the right, so they can only come from her front. She takes out the three man and reloads her gun. Her heart leaps to her heart when a body crashes into her back and an arm closes around her waist. She’s about to freak out and throw a punch when she sees the metal arm stretching in front of her, the sound of the bullets hitting the metal louder than she’s ever hear did before. Bucky moves them backwards, out of the line of fire.

“Are you alright?”

And suddenly, he’s all she can see. There’s eyes and hands everywhere—touching every limb, wiping away and double checking every drop of blood. The moment passes and reality hits when the small circular explosive drops at their feet. They both react immediately—Bucky sinks to the floor to pick up the grenade and throw it back at them, just as she stands stall and empties her round of bullets on the handful of soldiers that found their way towards them. They run towards the lake and the force of the detonation throws them into the water violently.

Bucky is the first one out of the water. One quick look around and he lets himself relax, knowing they got themselves a window to get it together. Panic runs through his veins when he doesn’t see her. She’s still underwater fighting with her own coordination. Her ears are ringing and when she’s finally able to push up, everything seems to be doubled.

“You alright? I gotcha,” she knowns it’s Bucky talking but he sounds so far away, she can barely hear it. His arms close around her and he helps her swim out of the water. Bucky sits on the dirt under the wooden dock and keeps her close to his chest. “It’s okay, I got you.”

She holds onto his jacket and the world starts to focus. She feels her teeth shatter and the ringing in her ears fades away, leaving nothing but the movement of the water and Bucky’s heavy breathing. And then she sees nothing but _blue, blue, blue_. Bucky smiles, relieved, his right hand holding her head up and his thumb caressing her cheek.

The sky could’ve fallen right next to them then and they wouldn’t have even noticed.

iv. 

caring for each other’s injuries/falling asleep on each other.

Bucky’s wet and tired and so ready to get home when he steps into the jet.

He gets comfortable in his seat and cleans the small wound in his arm quickly. He leaves the first aid kit next to his seat, lazy to put it back into place and leans back, closing his eyes. He tries his best to not flinch when she takes the seat at the other side of him. He can feel the warmth of her body and he won’t ever tell anyone, but he swears the hairs on his arms and back of his neck stand up when her leg touches his. He focuses on the sound of her breathing and it’s been so long since he felt this much calm. When the breathing slows down enough, he dares to take a quick peek; her eyes are closed and her head is hanging forward, her body so relaxed and tired, she can’t help but fall asleep. Bucky’s heart break a little and reaches out with his right hand to touch her chin. Very slowly, he guides her body back and her head towards his shoulder. She falls into him immediately, a happy sigh leaving her lips.

“Bucky.”

Was she calling him?

Was she dreaming?

Was she saying thank you?

Bucky waits for an answer but it never comes. She suddenly looks so comfortable he doesn’t have the heart to disturb her with silly questions.

He’s fighting the need to hold her hand when he notices the little cut. He takes her hand and very slowly raises it towards him so he can see it properly. He’s happy he didn’t take the small first aid kit back to its place, because now he can clean the blood off and sanitize the cut before wrapping a bandaid around her finger. He places her hand back into her lap and after a light squeeze, he lets go. He gets comfortable again, closes his eyes, and falls asleep while counting her breathing.

v. 

back hugs.

“Yo también te amo, mami,” she says. “Te llamo la próxima semana.”

“Cuídate mucho, princesa,” the voice on the phone replies before the light goes dead.

Her whole body tenses when she hears the door close. She turns around ready to fight, but relaxes once she realizes there’s no threat, it's just Bucky. Her eyes hit the ground and gives his back to him again.

“I’m sorry,” he starts. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s okay,” she answers over her shoulder. “I was just on the phone with my mom.”

Bucky bites his lower lip, thinking hard about what he should say next. Taking a step closer to her, he ventures, “Is she okay?”

“Yeah,” she replies with a nod, her hands working on cutting a couple of apples.

He stands even closer to her then, his body facing her, his hip touches the edge of the counter and his arms crossed.

“Are you?”

Bucky sees her freeze for a fraction of a second, and then, “Yeah, I just—it’s fine. I’m fine.”

And he only has to wait a moment but he would’ve waited for years if it was necessary. He doesn’t have time to think how scary that thought is because she’s talking then, her voice low and gloomy, making his heart hit the ground.

“It’s her birthday today and we haven’t celebrated together in years. I guess it just made me a little sad.”

“You miss her."

“A lot, yeah,” she smiles sadly. “But I think I’ll see her for Christmas this year. Hopefully.”

She keeps her eyes low, the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board as their only background noise, and Bucky knows she’s trying her best to not cry. She does her best at avoiding his eyes, but he notices the corner of her mouth turning downward involuntarily, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. Not knowing what else to do, Bucky stands behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. She freezes again and this time it takes a little bit longer for her to relax, but once she does, she just melts into him. Her hands drop the knife and find his, squeezing them hard, her head falling back to rest on his shoulder and there she sighs, the warmth of his body making her feel so much better.

They stay like that until the apples turn dark brown and she’s sure she won’t start crying.

vi. 

hugging.

When Bucky steps out of the jet, he gets a rush of energy.

He wants to think it's because he's happy to be able to shower and have a proper night's sleep, but it's mostly because his girl is pacing around impatiently, waiting for him. She rushes towards him once she finally realizes he's there, and the hole Bucky has felt in his chest all week suddenly disappears as she jumps into his arms. He catches her with his metal arm to hold her in place, and buries his face on her hair. He drops his bag on the floor to close his arms around her properly, and he feels like laughing.

"Careful, doll. People might actually think you missed me."

"Shut up," she whispers, hugging him tighter.

vii. 

forehead kisses.

"Thank you for walking me."

"Anytime," Bucky replies, burring his hands in his pockets.

"Are we still on for training tomorrow?"

"Can't wait," he smiles.

There's a moment then, where they don't move, they don't talk, they probably don't even breathe. They're just there, so hung up on each other, times passes by them in a hurry, and she's thinking _blue, blue, blue_ and he's thinking _kiss her, kiss her, kiss her_.  
Bucky finally takes a step forward and he can actually hear her heart stop. He smiles, leaning down, and they both close their eyes when he presses his lips against her forehead.

"Goodnight."

viii. 

a kiss.

Bucky steps into the gym and he looks like death.

He definitely feels worse than he looks but he had promised Sam they'd practice with knifes today and he didn't feel like giving any explanations. It doesn't take much to convince Sam that he's okay, he just didn't rest well, but he's ready for training either way.

"Alright, man," Sam pats his shoulder, clearly excited, and moves to the back of the gym to stretch. Bucky trails right behind him and when he finds her, he knows he's in trouble. He must really look bad for her frown to deepen so badly and the huff that leaves her lips. She looks back at the screen on her treadmill and Bucky sighs, finding Sam.

She's there as soon as he exits the gym, her arms crossed and her eyes throwing daggers at him.

"Why didn't you tell me the nightmares are back?"

"I'm okay," he promises. "It's nothing."

"Don't do that," she pleads. "Don't take this lightly, Barnes. You look like you haven't slept in days. Have you talked to anyone about this?"

"Not really, no," he confesses. "It just—it feels kind of _private_."

"Buck, I know HYDRA isn't something you like to talk about openly, but—"

"My nightmares aren't about that," he interrupts her then, and he wasn't going to tell her. Not yet, at least, but well, here they are, so fuck it. "They're about you."

She's taken aback then, what could she possible do to him that'd be so horrible he'd this wrecked by it?

"Wh—What?"

"My nightmares. They're about losing you," he confesses, his hand at the back of his neck, trying to play off his embarrassment. "They're about you being taken away from me one way or another."

"Bucky," she exclaims, hitting him on the chest. She's fuming now. "Why didn't you tell me?! If you're afraid, why are you pretending to be fine? You're gonna have a very hard time getting rid of me, Barnes. So next time you have a nightmare you better come see me or I'll swear—"

The words are muffled by Bucky's mouth on hers, taking all of her anger away. She bites her lips when he steps away, Bucky makes sure he didn't make a mistake and she's just trying to find what to say next. Her hands shake as she reaches for him, and that's all Bucky really needs. He takes a step closer, puts his hands at the base of her neck and kisses her again, saying everything it needs to be said then.

✭

"No way," she exclaims, making her way to the couch. "The new episode is out already?"

"I think they just uploaded it," Bucky answers, playing with a piece of popcorn in between his fingers before throwing it in his mouth. "Doesn't have the subtitles yet, though. Sorry."

"Then how are you watching it?"

"I actually speak Korean."

"Damn it," she pouts, her eyes on the tv. Realization hits her hard on the face then, and her expression's got Bucky cracking up. "Wait, hold up—you—the shows—the list—did you—"

Bucky's mouth is on hers before she's able to formulate a coherent thought.

**Author's Note:**

> find me - [xbuchananbarnes.tumblr.com](http://xbuchananbarnes.tumblr.com)


End file.
